Fever
by wingedauthoress14
Summary: Hinata gets a fever, but who's there to take care of her? Why Kiba of course! plz R&R!


A/N: HI EVERYONE!!! it seems like so long since i've written a new story- and don't worry- this is the first of many updates i will make. it seems as though i have fallen a bit behind, but don't worry- for everyone who likes my stuff, i will have xtra long chappies updated, and SOON. anyway, this story i wanna dedicate to my little brother since he's so uber cool. anyway, hope u like the story!!!

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Dark clouds swirled throughout the heavens, accompanied by a chilly breeze that swept across the rain doused land. A small figure could be seen from a distance, repeatedly hitting her hands against a tall, thick tree. Hinata took in a long shuddering breath, hoping that the dizziness she was feeling wasn't going to last long.

"Once more… just… once more…" she said, exhausted, but rushing towards her 'opponent' with all her strength. She succeeded in hitting the tree four times with her tenketsu, but on the fifth, her world began to spin. She stopped suddenly as darkness surrounded her, and she felt herself falling down a black tunnel.

Inuzuka Kiba was walking to the training grounds with his puppy pal Akamaru just as rain began to fall from the onyx sky. Kiba looked up in disgust, pulling his jacket closer to his body.

"What's with this weather, Akamaru? It hasn't stopped raining since last Tuesday." Akamaru barked in agreement, also unhappy about the conditions. Suddenly, he stopped, sniffing the air hesitantly.

"What's up buddy? What do ya smell?" Akamaru gave a short yip, and sprinted off to the training grounds where a white lump was just visible in the hammering rain. Eyes widening, Kiba realized just what- or in this case who- that lump was. He rushed over, and turned the body over to see his teammate, her face flushed with fever. He leaned closer toward her, whispering her name in her ear.

"Hinata? Oi, wake up! Are you okay?" finally, she opened her eyes to see Kiba's blurred profile staring down at her. She tried to raise herself up, but found that she was shaking with chills, even though her body radiated heat like hot metal, and collapsed into Kiba's arms. Without hesitation, Kiba put a hand to her forehead. He was amazed to discover that he could feel the heat coming from it even when his hand was just inches away.

"You're burning up. Come on, you're coming home with me," Hinata didn't reply, but closed her eyes, the fever's effects taking their toll. Kiba picked her up bridal style, holding her as though she was made of glass, turned to his canine companion, and said:

"Let's go" and the two sped off toward his house.

With a little difficulty, Kiba unlocked the door to his house, and, to his intense relief, saw that his mother and sister weren't home yet. _They're probably still on that mission_, he thought as he opened the door to his bedroom. Slowly, carefully, he laid Hinata down on the bed, and pulled the blankets over her shivering frame. Slowly, her eyes opened looking unfocused and confused.

"Kiba? What am I… doing here?" she asked, a cough taking place of the usual stutter in her speech.

"You were at the training grounds, and fainted- from a fever as far as I can tell. Don't get out of bed, I'll be right back," he walked from his room to a bathroom positioned outside his room in the hallway. Opening the medicine cabinet, he pulled out three things- a thermometer, some Motrin, and a washcloth. He wet the washcloth in cold water, and returned back to his bedroom to see Hinata shivering under the covers, though beads of perspiration appearing on her forehead. Kiba deposited the items from his arms, and knelt down beside her, a hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata, wake up for a sec," Hinata's eyes unwillingly fluttered open, alight with a feverish glimmer. Kiba held the thermometer up to her, and she took it, putting into her mouth. The two sat in awkward silence as they waited for the thermometer to take the correct temperature. When it began to beep, Kiba took it, and read the temperature. He felt his worry peak as he viewed the black numbers on the screen. _105… that can't be good…_He thought, watching his teammate sink back into the covers, her eyes closing.

"Wait a sec, Hinata. I want you to take some of these before you go back to sleep," he took the bottle of Motrin, and gave her two capsules which she swallowed with a glass of cold water. She gave him a small smile as he tucked the blankets in around her, and whispered: "Thank you, Kiba- kun" before drifting off into a blanket of darkness.

Not knowing what else to do, Kiba put the cloth on Hinata's forehead, which was still very warm, and pulled up a chair to watch his best friend. He gave a small sigh- he understood why she wanted to be stronger, but, come on, there had to be a better way than training in the rain all the time, right? He glanced at the clock on his nightstand whose numbers blared back in green: 8:30 p.m.

Akamaru came trotting into the room, his nails making little scraping noises against the hardwood floor. He jumped up on Kiba's lap, and, looking at Hinata, gave a small whimper. Kiba grinned reassuringly at his dog, and patted him on the head.

"Don't worry buddy. She'll be fine." Akamaru gave another little whine, and lay down on his owner's lap, as though saying _I hope you're right. _The hours trickled by as Kiba sat there, dog asleep in his lap, and his best friend asleep in his bed, every once in a while, shaking as the fever raced through her body.

Occasionally, he turned the cloth over to its cooler side, but other than that, what else could he do? Again, he looked at the timepiece on his nightstand which read 10:07 p.m. _wow… ten already…_Kiba's subconscious thoughts began to drift towards him as his eyes began to grow heavy with drowsiness. Soon, Kiba was sound asleep along with the two other occupants in the room, his head sagging against his muscular chest. It seemed like an instant later, he heard the sound of a door being flung open, and a voice yelling in his ear:

"Kiba! Wake up this instant!"

Kiba bolted upright, unaware that he had dozed off. His first sight of the morning was looking into his mother's eyes which, at the moment, were fierce and enraged.

She pointed to Hinata, and whispered in his ear- while keeping a vice grip on his arm- "Explain this" Kiba wasted no time in telling her the story- how he found her in the training grounds, and how she was burning up with fever. When he finished, his mother didn't look so much furious as she was worried.

"What did you say her temperature was again, Kiba?"

"105º" His mother's eyes widened as she looked at Hinata who was still feverish, still asleep, still unaware of the danger she was in.

"She needs to be taken to the hospital right away- 105º is a very high temperature- and when Hiashi gets word that you took in his daughter- oh my god! This is such a mess! Why didn't you just take her to the Hyuga complex?! Why did you have to bring her back here…"

Kiba sat there, still half asleep, only partially listening to his mother ramble on and on. What was wrong with him? He was so worried about Hinata, that he didn't notice where he took her. All he wanted was for her to get better- he didn't even stop to think of the consequences.

His thoughts stopped as abruptly as Hinata coughed, and awoke from her feverish slumber. She caught sight of Tsume (A/N: I think that's what Kiba's mother's name is- someone plz correct me if I'm wrong) and immediately grew panicked. Tsume put on a comforting look, and told her that she was running a high fever, and that the hospital was the best option for her. Hinata's eyes grew wide with fear- Kiba knew this reaction was because of her fear of hospitals. Even when she was injured on a mission, and had to be hospitalized, she never liked to stay there for more than a day- even when Tsunade pressed her to stay longer.

"T-the h-hospital?" she looked from Tsume to Kiba, her stutter returning. Kiba smiled at her reassuringly, and took her hand in his.

"Don't worry- it'll be okay," slightly comforted by this, the shy Hyuga gave the closest thing to a smile she could, and nodded.

"We'd better go now then," Tsume said, getting up. Kiba, not wanting Hinata to try to walk and faint again, carried her bridal style. They arrived in the emergency room a few minutes later. The fear slowly returned to her eyes as the sickly smell of sanitation and anesthetics grew about her. The blank walls, which had an unearthly gleam to them, sent glares of the bright fluorescent lights streaming into her eyes.

She began to cough again, this time, making her whole body shake with tremors, her cheeks quickly becoming pink, eyes watering. A few of the hospital staff came out, and quickly put her in a screened- off area. Kiba's mother agreed to wait in the waiting room until it was time to go. Before Kiba or Hinata could say anything to one another, a grumpy- looking nurse came in. She took Hinata's temperature (which was still 105º) and said that the doctor would be in soon. As soon as she was outside, Kiba stuck his tongue out at the direction in which the nurse went out, making Hinata giggle, which turned into a cough. She covered her mouth with her hands, doubling over. Kiba put a hand on her shoulder, and said:

"Oi, you okay, Hinata?" She stopped coughing long enough to raise her flushed face, and give him a small smile. The curtain opened, and the doctor walked in. She was an optimistic looking person with wavy brown hair and green eyes hiding behind large glasses. She looked at her notepad, and said:

"You're Hyuga Hinata?" Hinata nodded silently, looking very shy all of a sudden. It seemed that her fear of hospitals had returned with vengeance. The doctor smiled, and stepped in, holding out her hand for Hinata to shake. After they shook hands, the doctor looked at Kiba and then back at Hinata.

"Is this your boyfriend, Miss Hyuga?" Hinata and Kiba both blushed multiple shades of red and avoided each other's eyes.

"Uh no- I'm her teammate. She was sick and was training out in the rain and… yeah…" Kiba finished awkwardly there. The doctor gave him a smile, and moved on to Hinata.

"Hm…" she said as she checked her patient over, "you look like you have a good case of strep throat, and I want to take a blood test just to be sure there's nothing else wrong," the doctor made a quick note on a piece of paper atop her notepad, "with plenty of rest, and the right medicine, you'll be back to your normal self in no time. A nurse will be in to give you medicine for your throat, and for the blood test," with that, she left, closing the curtain behind her. Kiba noticed that Hinata was fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket.

"Hey, what's up? You never fidget when you're around me," Kiba asked/ said.

"It's just… um…" Hinata swallowed and winced- strep wasn't fun. "I… ever since I had to get my first shot… I've always been afraid of needles…" Kiba grinned at her.

"Is that what you're upset about? Don't worry about it- listen; I get hurt a lot and have to get shots to boost my immune system almost every time I come here. It doesn't hurt a bit, and I promise I'll be right here the whole time- if you want me to be here that is," Hinata gave a small smile.

"No, I want you to stay, it would make me feel better," The same nurse from before came in, and handed Hinata a package full of medicine. When she drew the blood, Hinata let out a little whimper and looked away to see her hand grasping Kiba's in fear. The two blushed and looked away. Before she left, the nurse turned to Hinata, and said:

"There, you're all done- oh, and Ms. Hinata? You're father is here." Hinata felt her face turn pale. What would her father say when he saw her? She didn't have long to wonder as Hiashi came into the room. Kiba got up to leave, but Hiashi glared at him, making him sit back down.

"F-father," Hinata began hesitantly, unsure of what she was going to say. He silenced her with a look, and began to speak.

"Hinata, you had the entire family worried sick. If you wanted to get stronger, you should have told me. I would have trained you. Furthermore," he said, looking at Kiba, "you were lucky this Inuzuka happened along when he did. Otherwise you might be even worse for the wear than you are right now." Hinata looked at her father in shock- this was not quite the reaction she expected.

"Go-gomen- nasai, Kaa-san," was her stuttered reply. Her father didn't speak, but looked at his daughter in, perhaps relief. Kiba's mother came in, and greeted Hiashi.

"Kiba? I think it's time for us to be going home now," Tsume said, taking a silent hint from Hiashi. Kiba nodded and smiled at Hinata.

"Get better soon, kay Hinata?" she smiled at him, and nodded.

-LATER THAT NIGHT-

Kiba yawned and stretched his arms as he headed back to his bedroom for the night. _What a day…_he thought as he passed his sister's room. He stopped as he heard her call him. Like the loyal brother he is, he went back and answered:

"What do ya want, pain- in- the- neck- sister?" he growled into her doorway. He was met with an arm, encircling his neck and a fist being ground into his head, giving him the noogie of a lifetime.

"Ow! Hey! Is that what you called me in for, stupid sister?" Kiba yelled as he tried to untangle himself from her.

"Mum told me everything that happened," she hissed in his ear, "I'm really proud of how well you took care of that Hyuga girl," she laughed a little "you must really like her, huh?" with that, Kiba managed to squirm out of his sister's vice grip that she inherited from her mother. As soon as he was in his room, he closed the door, and wrenched open the window.

"You bet," he said to the stars which twinkled back at him brightly.


End file.
